Special finds await at this year's Royal Rummage Sale

By Dana Kampa
| 5:00 a.m. February 17, 2026

Julia Graziano, co-chair of this year's Royal Rummage Sale, shows some of the adorable items to be found at the upcoming sale.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

What special item might bring a personal touch to your home? A delightfully oversized teddy bear? A metal chandelier wrought with delicate pink flowers? Wall art featuring the inquisitive faces of a trio of koi fish?

Those unique finds and many more await treasure hunters at the upcoming Royal Rummage Sale XVIII.

The popular annual rummage sale, hosted by the Women's Guild, returns on March 6 to St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church.

Event co-chairs Julia Graziano and Barb Puchta were new to the Women's Guild last year. Now, in their second year of preparing for the sale, they are embracing the camaraderie of the organized chaos. Every Wednesday leading up to the sale the month prior, teams of volunteers get together to sort mountains of boxes filled with clothing, home furnishings, art, books and more.

Proceeds from the community rummage sale help support the guild's scholarship program.

Over the years, the lines of eager shoppers showing up early for the first foray into the selection have only grown. Graziano encourages shoppers to get there early, although volunteers plan to continuously refresh the tables of wares.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.